DECOARH, Iowa – What a way to close out the regular season with a series sweep of Central for the Luther Baseball team with the 13-7 victory on senior day. The Dutch may have gotten four runs right off the bat but the Norse answered with runs from the third inning on. Luther finishes out the regular season with an overall record of 24-16 and 17-7 in American Rivers Conference (A-R-C). With the sweep, the Norse earn the number two seed for the A-R-C Tournament which begins next week.
 
FOR THE SENIORS
The Dutch came out swinging pilling on four runs in their first at bat and everyone wondered if this was how the game was going to go. Nonetheless the Norse got going chipping away at the lead by adding a run in the bottom half of the third inning. With runners on the first and second, Charlie Rubendall (Minneapolis, Minn. / DeLaSalle) hit an RBI deep single into center field gave Luther one run back. But there was more to come from the Norse offense.
 
The rally kept going for Luther in the following inning, with Gabe Atkins (Castle Pines, Colo. / Rock Canyon) on with a single. He would be followed up by doubles from Noah Sebben (Moline, Ill. / Moline) and Barrett Lindmark (Bettendorf, Iowa / Pleasant Valley) to scored two more. Then Lewis Peters (La Crescent, Minn. / Aquinas) was walked and Stamp and Peyton Lindmark (Bettendorf, Iowa / Pleasant Valley) came aboard sacrificing their bodies being hit by pitch to jam the bases. Rubdenall lined out but it did give time for the tying run to come across the plate for a 4-4 draw.
 
Central couldn't get much offense going as Ryan Manternach came into stride after giving up four runs early. In the bottom of the fifth Joshua Matanich (Lake City, Minn. / Lincoln) singled and Atkins hit a sac fly to score the run to overtake the Dutch for the first time in the game.
 
Later in the sixth, Luther cracked the game wide open with two outs and Peters on third. Rubendall hit a double that went to the wall allowing Peters to come home. Noah Dutler came in to pinch hit and roped a single down the right field line. Matanich back at the plate found his ideal pitch hitting another home run of the day this time it was two-run homer bringing the game to a 9-4 Norse lead.
 
The bats were finding success in the seventh as Luther continued to hit the Dutch pitchers. With two runners on by walks, Stamp doubled into center field earning an RBI. And not too much later, Rubendall hit a single earning two RBIs for a 12-4.
 
The leadoff batter for the Norse in the bottom of the eighth was Matanich. He had already had one home run on the day but added another to his total hammering it deep out of the park. It would be the final Luther run of the day but what time for him to have two home runs in a game on senior day.
 
The Dutch got three runs back in the top of the ninth but it was far too late. Kaleb Thiesse (Kasson, Minn. / Kasson-Mantorville) came to get the final two outs on the day with two strikeouts for the 13-7 win. The Norse finish the regular season second in the conference and earn the number two seed heading into the A-R-C Tournament.
 
TOP NORSE

• Ryan Manternach (Monticello, Iowa / Monticello) pitched 5.1 innings, giving up six hits, four runs, four walks and five strikeouts. He got his fifth win of the season and now has a season record of 5-3.  
• CJ Boudreaux (Humble, Texas / Atascocita) came in for two innings of relief giving up two hits, two walks and three strikeouts.
• Joshua Matanich (Lake City, Minn. / Lincoln) continues to hit the ball deep when it matters most. With three hits with a solo home run and a two-run home run, three RBIs and two runs.
• Barrett Lindmark (Bettendorf, Iowa / Pleasant Valley) had two runs, one hit, two RBIs and a double.
• Charlie Rubendall (Minneapolis, Minn. / DeLaSalle) had one run, three hits with a double and earned four RBIs.

 
UP NEXT
The Norse have locked in the number two seed for the A-R-C Tournament which begins action on Thursday, May 11^th. Luther as the number two seed will play the winner of three-seed Loras vs six-seed Wartburg. The first pitch will be at 5:00 p.m. at Veterans Memorial in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  
 
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